Public Comment PeriodsDuring the first public comment period, 20 community members addressed the board about extending the 2017 levy. The board’s practice has been to extend the levy each year to the maximum amount allowed by law – which is the lesser of CPI or 5%. This year, the amount would be 2.1%. 14 community members spoke in favor of extending the levy to keep pace with inflation and 6 spoke in favor of freezing the levy this year. (See below for additional explanation of the tax levy) In the second public comment period 3 additional community members spoke in support of extending the levy.

Three community members also spoke about the instrumental music program. During the October 23 meeting, President Mark Steen suggested that the Board look at the program and whether or not students should be given grades and/or pulled out for sectionals. The community members spoke in support of continuing both practices.

Fiscal Year 2017 Financial AuditThe Auditor presented the annual financial audit. They issued an unmodified opinion on the district’s financial statements. The district is fiscally stable moving forward. They have completed the federal single audit and the ISBE required regulatory report. D39 received a score of 4.0 out of 4 on the financial profile score. The Board members had the following comments: Mr. Cesaretti said he wants to make pension data more accessible to the public so that they can better understand it and asked the auditor if they could work together on this. Mr. Panzica asked if the district’s reserve level affects the ISBE score. The auditor said that 2 of the 5 components are related to reserves – cash on hand and revenue to fund balance ratio.

2018-2019 Draft Student FeesAll fees will remain the same as last year except an increase in 7th grade ipad fee by $10 to include cost of insurance. Of note is that the fee for late bus registration will now be charged only to families who are allowed to register after school has started if there is space available. Families who do not register by this year’s July 13 cut off will not be able to be added to a bus route until September 15.

2018-2019 Solicitation of Bids for Highcrest Addition

The District sought the Board’s approval to go to bid for construction of a 4 classroom addition to Highcrest at an estimated cost of $5,241,212. Board member Mrs. Kearny requested that the cost of air conditioning be broken out separately in the bid as a potential cost saving option. Dr. Lechner said his practice has been to have air conditioning in any new construction/buildings but agreed to having air conditioning broken out.

2017 Fall Assessment ReportMs. Lee gave a report on assessment results for prior year PARCC and Performance Series testing. This is the final report on Performance Series as the District is now using MAP. The findings from both assessments confirmed that D39 students performed as expected, far exceeding national norms on Performance Series. The number of students meeting or exceeding expectations on PARCC exceeded state norms and were comparable to other New Trier feeder districts. The Board asked that percentages of students exceeding expectations be broken out separately since that is the most relevant measure for District 39 students. They also asked questions about the student growth targets presented by Ms. Lee which she said will be addressed more effectively by MAP. Mr. Panzicka also pointed out that there are notable gender differences in ELA performance with girls significantly outperforming boys. This is an issue that needs to continue to be monitored and a plan provided for closing the gap.

Fiscal year 2017 LevySuperintendent Dr. Ray Lechner said that he, and the Board of Education, received more than 100 emails both for and against extending the levy. He made a presentation intended to clarify information about the levy for the Board and community members. He explained the levy process, the district’s financial philosophy and illustrated the financial impact of several scenarios, including the state legislature’s consideration of a two-year property tax freeze.Dr. Lechner said that an individual taxpayer’s bills do not change by the percentage change in the District’s levy due to fluctuating property values and the impact of new construction. A change in a taxpayer’s tax bill reflects the change in an individual’s property tax bill relative to the total property value in the district. The district’s philosophy has always been to “live within our means” as much as possible. He said the district is very fiscally responsible with one of the lowest costs per pupil in equivalent districts and the lowest of all New Trier feeders. As much as possible, the District connects expenses to revenue and is one of the only districts to tie employee salary increases to CPI. The district also maintains a fund balance of 30% of total expenditures while other districts target 50%. The financial impact of freezing the levy, combined with a two-year property tax freeze, would cause the fund balance to drop below 30% in three years. By extending the levy, the fund balance can be maintained until 2022 even with a property tax freeze. Following Dr. Lechner’s remarks, Board members asked questions about the district’s assumptions. Several members discussed the $13.6 million projected capital expense for a 4-phase construction project at Highcrest. Any phase of the project could be cut if state conditions caused a future drop in the fund balance. For several years the District has budgeted for state funding limitations that have not come to fruition. That money has been spent on capital projects, not kept in reserves. However, Dr. Lechner said that the projects, including science labs, Learning Commons and the 1:1 learning program were important to keep the district competitive. The Board said that public attention has resulted in a closer examination of the levy process which is beneficial to the community.

Board Policy ReviewThe Board was asked to approve the first reading of changes to several Board of Education policies. Mr. Steen noted that Policy 2:230 makes changes to guidelines for public comment at board meetings. Comment time will be reduced to 3 minutes per individual. If an individual chooses to speak in the first comment period and again in the second comment period, they will be accorded 3 minutes in the first and an additional 1 minute in the second period. There will no longer be a limit of 15 minutes per topic. The second reading of this policy will take place at the December board meeting and the Board will vote on its approval. If the policy change is approved the rules will be in effect for the December meeting. Mr. Steen noted that these changes had been discussed and agreed upon by the entire board at the committee of the whole meeting.

Issues Referred to Other Committees or Organizations: Ms. Kearney suggested that the Board introduce a policy or practice regarding when written communication is included in the board packet. Current practice is to include items submitted to the full board Board that are received by the Friday before the packet is posted. Ms. Kearney noted that she does not think there is a written policy regarding this practice. She noted that Dr. Lechner was not copied on some of the items in this month’s communication and it was noted that any communication to the full board must be included by law. She noted that items a board member forwards to Ray or the President for their review or information should not be included in the packet. She believes a policy is needed so that the public understands the procedure and deadline to have their communication included in the packet. Referred to Committee of Whole

Other Items of Interest:

Votes:The Consent Agenda including the following items was unanimously approved: Approval of the Personnel Report, Acceptance of the Fiscal Year 2017 Audit, Approval of the 2018-2019 Solicitation of Bids for Highcrest Addition, and Approval as a First Reading Revised Board of Education Policies 2:230, 6:70, 6:80, 6:100, 6:110, 6:120 and 6:140.